Hair straightening and waving iron



Dec. 30, 1958 F. E. ELDRIDGE HAIR STRAIGHTENING AND WAVING IRON Filed NOV. 29, 1955 11106112 52 France; E. E l rjdye [9%TJTEF United States Patent HAIR STRAIGHTENING AND WAVILIG IRON Frances E. Eldridge, Philadelphia, Pa. Application November 29, 1955, Serial-No. 549,660 1 Claim. (Cl. 132-143) The present invention relates generally to devices for the treatment of hair and relates, more particularly, to hair curling and straightening irons.

In the treatment of tightly curled hair or kinky hair, it is desirable first to use a hair-straightening step, and thereafter, wave or marcel the hairaccordingto the prevailing styles.

It has heretofore been suggested to employ hairstraightening irons, having a pair of serrated edges along the concave jaw member which is pivotally connected to the usual cylindrical 'heatingrod member so that, when a strand of hair (which has been pro-treated withia suitable oil) is gripped between the heated rod member and the serrated jaw member a steady pull of the implement will draw the strands of hair through the serrations so as to provide a straightening effect. However, such. conventional straightening irons, as heretofore employed, have been incapable of use for hair waving and curling. It has been necessary to use an additional conventional curling iron for the waving .or marcellingoperation- It is the object of the present invention to provide a new and improved curling iron which can be used for both the hair straightening operation and the subsequent waving operation. Other objects and advantages of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description, appended claim and accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is presently preferred and which has been found in practice to give satisfactory results. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities disclosed.

Referring to the accompanying drawingsin which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hair straightening and curling iron embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the sleeve as it appears when removed from the jaw member.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of Fig. 1 but showing the appearance of the iron when in closed position.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view like that of Fig. 3, but taken generally along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The embodiment of Fig. 1 includes a generally cylindrical elongated heating rod and a jaw member 12 which, as indicated particularly in Fig. 3, is more or less concave in cross-sectional configuration so that in closed position, it conforms generally to the outer convex surface of the cylindrical heating rod 10.

The heating rod 10 and the jaw member 12 are pivotally connected with a pin 14 in conventional manner similar to that shown for example in Thomas Patent 1,778,874, or Gjeruldsen Patent 1,959,420, and are provided with more or less integrally formed handle portions 16 and 18 respectively, each of the handle portions being provided with a covering of suitable heat-insulating material. The jaw member 12 is provided with a cut-out portion 20 to enable the handle portion 16"to extend therethru in a manner more or less conventional in theart; Themembers 10-16 and 12-18 are constructedand arranged" to pivot about the pin14 in a'conventio-nal 'manner well.

known in the curling; iron art.

The jawmember 12 is provided with two; longitudinal edges 22 and 24 which-extend parallelto'ieach otheralong substantially the-entire length. of the jaw member. One of the edges 22 is smooth and unaserrated throughout." The other edge 24,is provided with a pluralityof curved teeth 26 which begin at av point more or less adjacent to the pivoted end of thesjaw member and extend out-.

wardly there along for slightly lessthan. one half the. I

longitudinaldimensionof said'e'dge 24.

The arcuate teeth '26 extend. around the jaw member for somewhat less than one half the circumferential ortransversedimension thereof.

The jaw member 12 is provided with a pair 'of indenta tions or dimples 28 and '30 disposed adjacent the'inne'rand outer ends respectively ofthe serratedor toothed" portion of said jaw member.

Slidably mounted upon the jaw member 12 is a separate sleeve 32, openat both ends, which is arcuate in-crossserrated or toothed. portion of the edge 24.

The sleeve 32, which. is-preferably formed of some-- what resilient heat-resistant metal or the like, is provided with alocking button or protuberance 34-adjacent its inner end. The button 34 is constructed and arranged to fit. within either of the depressions 28 and 30 cm the jaw member.

When the button 34lfit's' within:theoutermost'depression 36, as shown in Fig. 3, it holds the sleeve 32 upon the outermost portion of the jaw member 12 in the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 1. In this position, the serrated or toothed portion 26 of the jaw member 12 is uncovered so that, when the jaw member 12 and the cylindrical rod 10 are brought together, the uncovered teeth 26 are adjacent the rod and can be used for straightening kinky hair in a manner well known in the art and disclosed, for example, in Russell Patent 1,572,161.

However, it should be noted that the thickness of the metal of the sleeve 32 provides a slight radial clearance between the teeth 26 and the rod 10, as indicated in Fig. 4, this slight clearance, coupled with the fact that the opposite edge 22 of the jaw member 12 is smooth and unser'rated, makes the iron much easier to use and minimizes uncomfortable pulling of the hair.

In straightening kinky hair, the hair is preferably first moistened with any conventional oil preparation (containing a waxy ingredient which hardens when dried and aids in stiffening the hair), and a strand of the hair is then gripped between the heating rod 10 and the serrated or toothed portion of the jaw member 12, so that the serrated edge 24 is nearer the head. The iron (which has been pre-heated to suitable temperature) is then gradually moved laterally away from the head and under the action of the oil preparation and the heat of the iron, the natural kinkiness of the hair is overcome, so that the hair emerges from the toothed portion 26 in relatively straightened condition.

After the straightening of the hair has been effected in this manner, the iron of the present invention can be used to performwaving or marcelling operations.

For this purpose, the sleeve 32 is manually moved inward along the jaw member 12 from the position shown in solid lines in'Fig. 1 to the position shown in dash-dot lines. In the latter position, the locking button 34 en- Patented-Dec. 30,1 958" 1 It should be noted that the resilience of the sleeve 32 permitsthe button 34 to yield and disengage when longitudinal pressure is applied to the sleeve, thereby enabling the sleeve to be locked in either of the two positions illustratediin Fig.1.

It is also possible to remove the sleeve 32 completely from thejaw member 12 by manually moving it outwardly from the solid line position of'Fig. 1, until it slidescompletely off the free end of the jaw member.

In the drawings, the heating rod has been shown as comprising a solid'rod of metal (sutficient in bulk to have thenecessary heat retention ability). Such a solid heat element is raised to the necessarytemperature by simply holding it inthe flame of a gas burner as is well known in the art.

However, instead of using a solid'heating rod, it is possible to employ other typesof conventional heating rods, .sucliflas, for example, a hollow rod containing an internal electrical heating coil, as disclosed, for instance, in Dondanville ct a1. Patent 1,580,370.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that the novel construction of the present invention provides a simple, and inexpensive iron which can be used for straightening kinky hair and also for waving and marceiling.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms, and, therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; reference being made to the appended claim as indicating the true scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent the following:

AHhairdressing device comprising a single straight t 4 elongated generally cylindrical rod, an elongated jaw member pivotably connected to said rod, said jaw memher being cross-sectionally concave with respect to said rod, whereby said rod may be nested within said jaw member, said rod and said jaw member each having a handle disposed on the other side of the pivot point so that said rod and said jaw member can be manually moved intermediate open and closed positions with said rod being nested within said jaw member in the closed position, said jaw member having one of its edges smooth and un-serrated throughout its entire length, and its other edge having a plurality of curved hair-straightening serrations formed along less than one-half the total length of said edge adjacent the pivot point with the outer end of said edge being smooth and un-serrated, a discrete hollow open-ended sleeve generally corresponding in length to the serrated edge portion of said jaw member and having arcuate cross-sectional configuration correspending to that of the jaw member slideably mounted upon the jaw member, and means for selectively locking said sleeve on said jaw member in either covering relationship to the serrated portion of the jaw member or covering relationship to the smooth and un-serrated portion of the jaw member.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 659,536 Berryrnan Oct. 13, 1896 917,680 Taylor Apr. 6, 1909 1,376,416 Forshee May 3, 1921 1,473,312 Passard Nov. 6, 1923 1,572,161 Russell Feb. 9, 1926 1,605,540 Gibney Nov. 2, 1926 1,675,762 Mathews July 3, 1928 1,778,874 Thomas Oct. 21, 1930 1,893,503 Marcel Jan. 10, 1933 1,959,420 Gjeruldsen May 22, 1934 

